My Own Hero
by what-happened-in-peru
Summary: WW2 AU. During the war, the battles become more mental than physical for Matthew, Alfred and Ludwig. It's time to choose for what to fight for rather than who.
1. Prologue

**I don't own anything. Written by M~**

Alfred F. Jones read the daily newspaper as his grandchildren were in the basement playing video games. The birds were chirping as the sun shone into the kitchen through the small window. He took a sip of his coffee and went back to flipping through the pages of the paper. He reminisced of years ago and past events since today was the anniversary of his younger brother's death. He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder so he looked up to see his husband, Arthur, staring down again. The hand of his lover came and brushed away the tears he didn't know he had started to shed.

"Our dear grandchildren are fighting again, I believe over a video game matter. Do you mind dealing with it?" his lover whispered into his ear.

He nodded absentmindedly as he stood up from the kitchen table. Alfred walked slowly through the ancient hallways of his house to the basement door. He looked at the pictures on the wall of his brother and his lover, all of their adoptive children and their grandchildren. When he arrived he heard a few muffled screams and swung the door open and raced down the thirteen stairs. He saw two children tackling each other on the ground while on the television screen there were monsters running around and the two screens were blood red, representing the death of the player. He looked back to his grandson, Peter, and his great nephew who he considered his grandchild, Kumajirou. Kumajirou looked a lot like his grandfather but he was hidden underneath Peter.

"What are you doing, boys?" Alfred asked. Peter stood up off of Kumajirou and smiled.

"He wants to join the army and go fight! I don't want him to leave though," explained Kumajirou with tears in his eyes. Alfred was taken aback as Peter nodded furiously at this concept.

"I wanna be a hero like you," exclaimed Peter with a huge toothy grin. Alfred took a step back and sat down on the couch. Kumajirou climbed up and sat on his grandfather's lap. He hugged him tightly while Peter came up and sat next to him in silence.

"Why are you crying Grandpa?" Peter said while putting his head on Alfred's shoulder. Kumajirou wiped the tears away that were falling from his grandfather's face.

"Children, I have a story to tell you about a real hero. It's about little Kuma's grandpa, my brother and one of the bravest men I have ever known," started Alfred into a long, emotional tale that would not be quick to end...


	2. Good Morning

**I don't own anything. Written by M~**

Alfred woke up after spending a very romantic night with his fiancé, Arthur. He heard a small cry in the room opposite of theirs. He swung his legs out of bed, put on some pants to see what was wrong with his son. He and Arthur had recently adopted a young baby boy named Jack who had dark brown hair and was adorable. He went over to the baby's crib and looked in. Jack was clutching a stuffed Koala and squealed when he saw Alfred. Alfred reached in and took Jack out and held him up delicately.

"Hey Buddy, ready for today? I have a meeting with your uncle Matthew today if I can get him away from his boyfriend for once," he said chuckling to himself. Jack gurgled in response, though he of course had no idea why today was so special to his father. Alfred managed to get him dressed without Arthur's help and was in the middle of making breakfast for all three of them when Arthur came downstairs.

"Ugh, I still hurt from last night... what is all of this?" Arthur asked while staring at the wide arrange of breakfast items, then he remembered what today was.

"I received my letter of enrollment yesterday and so did my brother. We are opening them together today," Alfred stated. Arthur nodded solemnly, knowing what the results most likely were. They sat down and ate a delicious breakfast in silence except for the odd comment or noises from Jack. Alfred stood up and put the dishes in the sink. He started to wash them when he felt two arms wrap around his waist from behind.

"I wish you didn't apply," Arthur whispered.

"You know someone has to go and stop the Germans and who knows? I might not have even been accepted!" Alfred said, trying to cheer him up. He turned around and drew Arthur into a long kiss, "I think we should get dressed properly before Mattie gets here."

Arthur blushed and nodded, following Alfred into their bedroom after putting Jack in his crib for a bit. They quickly got dressed into more suitable attire before heading downstairs to see Matthew walking up the porch steps to their house. Matthew jumped a bit when the door swung open and almost hit him in the face.

"Hey bro! You ready to open our letters?" Alfred said, motioning Matthew to enter their house. He nodded and followed his older brother to the kitchen table. They sat down in silence as they removed their letters from their pockets. They each took their time opening the envelope to remove their letters. Matthew gasped at the results that caused his brother to worry for him.

"What's the matter Mattie? Are you going to be joining me in the fight against the Germans?" asked Alfred.

"I-I-I am actually. I thought I would be rejected so I haven't told Gil yet..." Matthew stammered. He looked up when he saw his brother laughing in relief.

"Sorry! I thought it was that you'd make me go off to war on my own, not the fact that you haven't told your boyfriend yet!" he said in between gasp of breaths from trying to control himself. He took his brother's hand and brought him to see Jack.

"Might want to see your nephew before you leave and spend the rest of your time with Gilbert before we go for training," Alfred stated. Matthew crouched down on the floor and started to play with Jack. He became enraptured by the little one's actions he didn't see Arthur come in the room to see the sight of the child so happy to be with this uncle. All of his other uncles scared him or at least scared Arthur, so they couldn't come over often. Matthew's attention was caught when Arthur cleared his throat.

"So are you going over too?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, I am," Matthew said.

"Then I must ask a favour of you. Will you protect Alfred?" Arthur questioned desperately.

Matthew smiled and answered, "Of course. I will lay down my life to protect him."

"Thank you, Matthew," the Brit said, overjoyed that there would be some sort of protection to look after Alfred. Alfred came back into the nursery and was surprised to see Arthur there.

"Ready to tell Gilbert, Mattie?" Alfred asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Matthew. He stood up from the floor and followed his brother out of the house to find Gilbert and tell him the life-changing news.


	3. My People

**I don't own anything. Written by M~**

Alfred noted the blinding sun when they left his house. Matthew was worried about how his boyfriend would take the news. They had been dating for over a year and a half but Matthew had never met any of Gilbert's family since they all lived in Germany. Alfred wondered how those two got along so well; maybe it was that Gilbert's dark sense of humour was the opposite of Matthew's light and cheery one. Perhaps it was their love of pancakes and maple syrup or their love of cute animals but the list could go on. The two were madly in love and that's all that mattered to Alfred since it meant his brother was happy.

"How's Gil been doing lately?" Alfred asked. His twin pondered for a bit before responding.

"He doing pretty good. His brother Ludwig was over here for a bit, apparently to tell Gilbert that their father is bed-ridden from a wound from the first world war and won't last long. Now Ludwig's over there tying up loose ends so his father can pass away without any worries. They are in constant contact with letters from what I know," rambled Matthew.

They continued to walk down the street until they saw the albino in the patio of a local café. Matthew called out to Gilbert who smiled and waved when he saw him.

"Hey Birdie, what's up?" Gilbert said cheerfully.

"Can we talk? In private?" Matthew asked his secret boyfriend.

"This sounds serious Mattie; is everything alright?" Gilbert asked seriously.

"Yup!" Matthew said but could hear his voice crack, "Know somewhere we can go?"

Gilbert nodded and motioned to the sidewalk so they could walk to their normal chatting place. They made their way through the small town, over the train tracks and into a meadow filled with tall grass and beautiful flowers. They had been here a few times before and it was where they had their first dates. Matthew could feel tears filling his eyes since he feared his lover's reaction. The albino turned around to see his Birdie crying. He pulled him close to his chest and began stroking his back in a calming motion.

"What's wrong Birdie?" Gilbert questioned worryingly.

"I-I have to go away," Matthew whispered into Gilbert's muscular chest.

"What? Are you serious?" he asked, letting go of his Birdie to get a better look at him to make sure he was serious in what he said. He could see that the blonde wasn't joking.

"I'm going to go fight in the war. I need to protect the people I love that live here and that includes you," Matthew said. Gilbert took a step back and looked at the ground.

"Going to kill my people now?" Gilbert said darkly. He looked Matthew hard in his eyes as it dawned on him that Gilbert was born and grew up in Germany before he moved here.

"Gil, I never meant-" Matthew started before he was cut off.

"Of course it didn't. You probably joined to protect your brother. I-I need time to think," Gilbert said before leaving Matthew in the meadow all alone. He heard Matthew drop to his knees and start crying but Gilbert really need time to think and calm down. Today he received a letter from his younger brother telling him he was joining the German army since it was their father's last wish before passing away. In short, his boyfriend and his brother were on opposite sides of the war and he was stuck home unable to do anything. He knew he should at least try to support Matthew's decision to join and save his brother but he didn't want either of them hurt or coming home in a casket.


	4. Tears Begin

**I don't own anything. Written by M~**

When Matthew got up from the cold ground he walked numbly through the town. He didn't realize how late he stayed in the meadow until he saw the sun starting to set. He wasn't sure if he should go home since he shared an apartment with Gilbert. When they had talked a few hours earlier he was pretty sure they had broken up. He didn't have time or the emotional stability to talk with Gilbert about retrieving his stuff and moving out somewhere. He staggered to his brother's house and knocked on the door. His twin swung the door open.

"Hey, what are you doing here Mattie?" he immediately realized that was the wrong thing to say when tears started to fall silently down his brother's face. His brother instincts kicked in and he led his brother inside and let him sit on the couch. He sat silently next to his brother before speaking up.

"Was it...Gil?" he whispered. His brother turned to his and cried harder.

"H-H-He said...he said I...I...I was g-going to k-kill his people! I wa-was so obsessed with...going to p-protect people, I f-f-for-forgot he came from Germany! H-he said...he said he needed t-time to think," Matthew bawled to his brother. He felt his head being brought to his brother's chest and a calming hand rubbing his back.

"Shhhh...It will be alright Mattie. You probably just upset him or caught him off guard. We are leaving at the end of the week; I'll talk to him tomorrow, okay?" Alfred said. He heard Matthew try to say something but it was muffled since he spoke into his chest. They continued to sit like this until Matthew became quiet and Arthur came downstairs. Alfred looked up at Arthur and back down at Matthew. He realized his brother had cried himself to sleep. He slowly got up and positioned his brother comfortably on the couch. Arthur went and fetched a blanket and placed it over the small body.

"Did something happen to the poor lad?" inquired Arthur.

"Let's just say I need to make a visit to Gilbert tomorrow," grunted Alfred. Arthur just shook his head and brought his lover back to their room so he knew he would sleep instead of worry of his brother.

* * *

Early in the morning, Alfred shot up from bed and prepared to head out. After he got dressed and prepared a breakfast for his brother so he wouldn't have to eat Arthur's cooking, he headed out to Matthew's apartment. He briskly walked there and knocked on the door when he arrived. He knocked a few more times and got fed up when nobody answered. He looked underneath the doormat and got the spare key and barged inside. He was surprised when nobody came and yelled at him. He glanced around the room and found Gilbert on the couch.

He walked closer to the sleeping Albino on the couch. He found it weird that the man wasn't in the bed but on the couch. When he stood next to him he saw there was a piece of paper on his chest. He picked it up but almost jumped when Gilbert moved and muttered, "Mattie."

Alfred started to read over what seemed like a letter. As he read the content of the letter he now knew why Gilbert was against Mattie going to war. He was probably worried about his brother and boyfriend on opposing sides. He must have also been in a melancholic mood recently since his father was on his death bed. How could he have not told his boyfriend any of this? He was too absorbed in the letter to notice Gilbert wake up and grab his leg.

"M-Mattie?" Gilbert asked, not entirely awake yet.

"The other twin, buster. Why didn't you tell my brother that your brother had join the war? Or the fact your father is almost dead? He cried himself to sleep last night since you're such a jackass!" Alfred fumed at Gilbert who was wincing at each sentence.

"I-I-I don't know. It just seemed like something he needn't be bothered with. I barely talk to my family except for my brother who seems more like a pen-pal then family. I was just surprised and infuriated how this war is taking everybody away from me!" snapped Gilbert. He seemed surprised when Alfred started to pat his back.

"Go talk to my brother. He's at my house but I don't know how long he'll stay there, so go and make him happy!" Alfred said with a smile. He gave a small chuckle when he saw Gilbert spring up from his seat and rush to gather some clean clothes and left the apartment with Alfred still in it.


	5. Auf Weidersehen

**I don't own anything. Written by M~**

Gilbert ran to Alfred's house as fast as his legs could allow. He felt like his heart was going to explode when he reached the door. He obviously wasn't in shape at all. He knocked on the door and paced outside of it waiting for some sort of life to open it. Finally Arthur opened the door.

"Oh, it's you," he muttered.

"What does that mean? I'm not the one barging over here after breaking someone's heart when they were just trying to do the right thing and protect their family!" Arthur spat as the Albino hid his head in shame.

"Can I talk to Matthew, please Arthur? It's important," Gilbert pleaded. The blond sighed and motioned for Gilbert to step inside. When he was taking off his shoes he felt a tight grip around his arm and a steady breathe against his ears.

"If you do anything more to him I will personally slaughter you," Arthur whispered to Gilbert before walking to the kitchen to continue feeding Jack who gurgled when he saw his father return to him. Gilbert cautiously continued into the living room to see his Birdie, who might have been his ex at that point, sleeping peacefully on the couch. Gilbert knelt down beside the mess of blond hair. Unconsciously he started to stroke Matthew's head in a soothing motion. He could feel his Birdie begin to stir under his touch.

"Five more minutes..." Matthew said, his words not completely muffled by the pillow. Gilbert leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"Whatever you say Birdie," the albino said but almost fell back when Matthew awoke with a start and almost knocked him over.

"G-Gil," Matthew stammered, "What are you doing here?" Gilbert could hear the sadness and a bit of hatred in his sweet voice. He sighed and placed his head in his darling's lap. Matthew looked at him curiously waiting for Gilbert to explain his presence at his brother's house.

"I'm sorry Mattie. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you alone in the meadow. I'm sorry for not explaining why I was upset with you and most of all I'm sorry that I left you to think that I wanted our relationship to end," stated Gilbert until there was no more apologies to be said. They sat like that, Gil's head remaining in the lap of the speechless man.

"Why were you upset that I would be going to war to protect my brother?" Matthew asked, breaking the silence that was beginning to grow uncomfortable.

"I was... I would say I was jealous. You could go protect your brother but mine is across the ocean and signed up for the army. My brother is a Nazi while my lover is fighting for the Allies! I feel like this war is taking everybody I love away from me!" Gilbert sobbed. Fingers began to make circle in his short hair, calming him down.

"I'll return to you. I promise Gilbert," Matthew said before pulling Gilbert into a breathtaking kiss.

(Page break)

The week had gone by too quickly for everyone. They had spent every possible moment together since they knew time was short. Arthur and Alfred were overjoyed when they learned that Gilbert didn't screw up apologizing for Matthew. In fact he had actually explained things like how his parents met during the first years of WWI. It was actually a story about his father who was mourning over the death of his wife and how he met a happy go-lucky Italian guy who thought he was a girl. It seems these little moment explaining things were bringing them closer together until they had to part. Unfortunately there came that fateful day when they had to separate until the soldiers could come home.

Arthur and Alfred said goodbye before and they decided it would be best if they didn't see each other off at the train station. Alfred had already boarded the train and that left Gilbert and Matthew together to say their goodbyes.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Gilbert asked desperately.

Matthew nodded his head. "I'm sure. I need to keep my brother alive but avoid yours at the same time."

Gilbert recognized that his Birdie was trying to be strong for him. He took the smaller man into a tight embrace.

He leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "Auf Wiedersehen, sweetheart..."

Matthew could feel his cheeks burning when Gilbert said that. He hugged the albino tighter and mumbled into his lover's chest, "I promised I would return and I will for you."

They broke apart and it was time for Matthew to board the train. They stood there awkwardly until Matthew raised his hand and wiped away some stray tears from Gilbert's cheeks.

"Your eyes are sweating again and that's not awesome," Matthew said and Gilbert smiled at this and remembered when he called his tears that before. He threw his hands up in the air and he cried harder.

"Who am I kidding? I'm crying because I'll miss you. Please return home safely," Gilbert sobbed. Matthew gave a sorrowful nod that he tried to pass as courageous and left. Gilbert stood solitary on the platform and kept thinking to the same thing to himself.

_Let my Birdie come back home... Please let him come home..._

**Depending on how much of a storyline I can come up with I might write one for GRExGermania that was briefly mentioned. I also like reviews so please leave some~**


	6. It's A Long Way

**I'm actually really annoyed that my school didn't focus a lot on World War 2. We learned about the battles and I think the they think that teaching general idea is that some bad stuff happened is good enough for the students, yet for WW1 we learned every single little detail. Tiny rant...I don't know own anything. Written by M~**

It had been 12 long and extremely gruelling weeks of boot camp for Matthew and Alfred. The camp had a huge sense of community that made them feel more welcome than they had thought. Both men enjoyed the fact that there was such a high feeling of camaraderie, and they got three square meals a day too. They had expected camp life to be a total drag, nothing but work. Sure, there was plenty of stuff that needed to be done, but with all the other friendly soldiers, it really wasn't so bad.

"Private Jones, Private Williams, you two are being shipped out in the next squadron overseas," the sergeant informed them one day. He was a big burly man with a stubbly beard and a southern accent. No one dared defy the sergeant for fear of his notorious death glare. Blunt as he was about pretty much everything, he was a pretty good guy. "Not sure where you two are going, but my guess is somewhere in Europe."

"Yes, sir!" Matthew and Alfred said in unison. They held their straight-backed pose until the sergeant disappeared. As soon as the man was out of sight, Alfred jumped up and down in joy. "Overseas..?" muttered Matthew.

"We get to go over there now, Mattie, all the way across the ocean! I wonder where we get to go... Do you think we get to go to England? Arthur came from there so maybe we could say 'Hi' to his family. Oh, maybe we're going to France! You always said you'd like to visit there, right?" At Matthew's silence, he paused. "Sorry, I'm just so excited to travel!" Alfred sang.

Matthew sighed at his brother's cheeriness. He knew Alfred wanted to be the hero no matter what, but he knew that war had the power to change people. He could still remember when their father came home from the Great War and he hadn't spoken for months. The screams that rang through the dark house when his father had nightmares haunted his mind for years. That man was the strongest person they had ever known but had committed suicide a year after his return. I think that's when Alfred developed his hero complex, thought Matthew. He decided to be the strong one for mom even though she followed dad to the other side.

That night, there was a small celebration for the soldiers who were going over. Alfred managed to charm the commanding officers into smuggling some spirits. The party went late until they were ordered to end it. They went into their bunks; Alfred slept on the bottom bunk now since he would usually come in late and often woke Matthew up before they switched places. Matthew was having trouble sleeping and was staring at the ceiling until he heard a voice.

"Mattie? Are you awake?" Alfred whispered.

Matthew turned over in his bunk and stuck his head over the edge. "Yes, Al?"

"Do you think the boys are missing us? I miss them so badly. I wonder if I'll get any letters when from Arthur when I'm over there..." Alfred muttered.

"I'm sure both Arthur and your son miss you very much. I also miss Gil very much and I hope I get letters from him, but I'm sure Arthur will definitely send you as many as he can," Matthew said reassuringly.

"Thanks Mattie, see you in the morning I guess," Alfred mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

"Good night Al," Matthew whispered before throwing his insecurities aside and falling into a deep sleep as well.

* * *

"Mattie, wake up! We're crossing the ocean now! Sweet Lady Liberty, it's so blue and clear, are you seeing this?" Alfred sang. He was being much too enthusiastic for this early in the morning.

"Of course I can see it, Al. I'm just feeling a bit nauseous," Matthew said before dry heaving a little bit. They were on a carrier plane with about 20 other soldiers who were all flying to join the battles in Italy. Matthew tried to close his eyes and ignore his brother but felt a hand come from behind and slap him on his back.

"Are ye alright, laddie? Feeling a bit sick te yer stomach, ain't ya?" a voice said. Matthew looked up to see one of their beloved friends from the training camp. He smiled as their tall Scottish friend named Allistor Kirkland tried to comfort him and his aching stomach. The slap on the back sure didn't help, though.

"I'm just feeling a bit sick, guess I don't really do well in the air. I'll stick to the ground," the small blonde smiled at his friend. The red-head sat down next to him and grinned widely.

"We just got te keep yer mind off yer stomach. I know a song we could sing; it was from the first war but my pa sang it to me when I was a wee kid..." Allistor said before trailing off. He then started to march in place while sitting and humming a familiar tune.

"It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go, it's a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye Piccadilly! Farewell Leicester Square! It's a long, long way to Tipperary, but my heart's right there!" Soon enough, the whole cabin filled with the joys of music. They knew their journey had only just begun.


End file.
